170 ielts essay samples

 
102. Should animals be used in testing new drugs and procedures?
Every year, millions of animals undergo painful suffering or death as a result of scientific 
research into the effects of drugs, food additives, cosmetics and other chemical products. 
While most people think animal testing is necessary, others are upset by what they see as 
needless suffering. This essay looks at some of the positive and negative aspects of 
animal testing.
Many medical treatments and procedures have been developed from experiments on 
animals. Since animals share many features with humans, scientists use animals to test 
the safety and effectiveness of newly developed drugs before pilot testing on small groups 
of patients. Medical teams practice new operating techniques such as transplants on 
animals. Without animal testing, many procedures or new drugs would be extremely 
unsafe.
However, many people are concerned that animals are suffering unnecessarily and 

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cruelly. They do not believe that every new drug needs to be tested on animals, especially 
with the huge database of knowledge and modern computer models. They also are 
worried that many animal tests are ineffective, pointing out that any drugs have had to be 
withdrawn from the market despite extensive testing. They particularly feel that animal 
testing should not be used for non-essential products such as cosmetics, shampoos, 
soaps, and cleaning products. Furthermore, some campaigners would like to see certain 
tests replaced and more humane methods used.
We need to make sure that the millions of animals who are used for testing new products 
are treated with the minimum of suffering. Although some animal testing may be 
unavoidable at present, treating our fellow creatures as mercifully as possible will 
demonstrate our humanity.